Once Ella got home and I successfully skirted the question of what I'd been doing and where I'd been for the past few weeks, I quickly moved the conversation along to what had been previously promised, not wasting any time in retelling my story the moment we relocated to the privacy of her room.
"―You encountered a 'critter'?"
"That's right. Like a cat-looking kinda thing, with a load of fluffy fur and a gemstone on its head. And a long tail with another gem on the end of it. It was absolutely silent except for the fact it made a sound like a bell ringing when it whipped its tail―that's how I found it, actually."
"...Okay. And then...?"
"And then I Awakened."
It didn't take long at all for my story to get started, and right after, for it to finish.
"Um... No no, that can't be all. You just found it and suddenly Awakened?"
Or not, if she kept asking those kinds of questions.
"Well, no, I caught it and it disappeared, and then I Awakened."
"What? You don't believe me, or?"
'Isn't that an accurate recounting of events? Of course, I'm not going to include the part where I got abducted to another world and killed a Hero to escape, but that's good enough by itself, isn't it?'
I was right, right? Right. So then, why did she seem so exasperated?
"Nothing... I was just surprised at how varied the experiences can be for different people."
'Ah... It was really painful for her, wasn't it. Even now... Shit.'
Suddenly feeling awkward, I raised my hand.
"Uh, do you need cooling down?"
"It's okay, thank you. I've more or less gotten used to it, so it hasn't been too bad recently. Like you said, cold showers or ice baths only seemed to make it worse, so now I just put it to maximum heat and it's mostly fine."
Although she let out a small giggle when she said that, I almost doubted my ears.
"Max heat, are you crazy?"
"No? Even that setting isn't as hot as it feels inside my chest on most days, so I don't really feel it."
"I guess so, but doesn't it affect your skin?"
"Mmhm. Not negatively, at least. Don't you think it looks more radiant now?"
Showing the white, pristine skin on her arm that almost seemed to glow with how clean and reflective it was, I couldn't refute her statement.
"See? Anyway, I was thinking about applying to get an examination done at the Awakening Examination Office during Easter Break. Do you want to come with me?"
At her abrupt proposal, I fell into thought for a minute.
'Even though I have a lot of free time now, I wanted to use as much of it as possible to clear Contracts... Also, what if I go for an examination and they discover the Mark on my hand? Librarian, that's not possible, is it?'
[Certainly! Um, because the Illusory Mark is engraved through magic, if that so-called 'Examination Office' has any sort of device that detects magic, it indeed would be detected! Fret not, however! Nothing bad will happen to the Mark if it gets detected, it just might make things difficult to explain!]
'Right... That's another thing I need to be cautious of, then...'
Before giving an answer, then, there was one other question I was curious to know the answer to.
"Is it necessary to go to the Examination Office to go to the Tower?"
"It works differently for other countries, but it works like that here. If someone wants to go to the Tower, whether they are Awakened or not they still need a permit, and to apply for one, you first need a record of having been examined for your Awakened status at the Office to be registered as an official Awakened by the country."
Without hesitation, she gave that answer. Evidently, she had already done her research regarding the entire process. It was helpful, but I had to be honest...
'It just sounds fucking annoying... I just wanna go to the Tower, but why is it so complicated? Ahh, maybe I should just stick with Contracts for now...'
Eventually, maybe it was because of the expression that sprouted on my face, but Ella broke the silence with a laugh.
"Do you not want to? There are a number of other benefits you can apply for if you become a registered Awakened, you know?"
"Not really... It just sounds annoying. If you want to go, you can, don't let me hold you back. I'd rather figure out my stuff on my own and go later. Sorry."
"No, that's fair enough. I'll probably go during Easter Break to get it out of the way early, then figure everything else out... I'm still... not so sure if I want to go to the Tower or not... Once I know that, I'm sure we can talk about it again."
After that, we continued to talk about not-so-important stuff for a while, in my case savouring the rare moment of connection to a lifelong friend between travelling worlds.
And, maybe due to the lingering scenes of sin, confession, and repentance stuck in my mind, but I couldn't help wondering once again just how much things would change if they found out.
Things were fine right now, but as was the case when we were going through each day, would they continue to be?
When "Thomas" confessed to murder, both times was she consoled and forgiven.
However, when the time came that it was "Peter's" turn to confess on the Eighth Day, she deliberately chose not to. She chose not to, and ended up committing it again anyway, dragging not just herself down but "John" with her.
Even though the situations and circumstances were completely different, I just couldn't help but see them as scarily similar.
By keeping everything hidden, was that exactly what I was doing...? Chapters first released on NoveI(F)ire.net
Of course, that was something I couldn't possibly know.